Wednesday, April 10, 2013

South Korea and the United States remained on high alert for any North Korean missile launch on Thursday as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and appeared to dial down rhetoric of impending war.

Despite North Korea's threats it will attack U.S. bases and the South in response to any hostile acts against it, Pyongyang started to welcome a stream of visitors for Monday's birthday celebrations of its founding father Kim Il-sung.

North Korea has stationed as many as five medium-range missiles on its east coast, according to defense assessments made by Washington and Seoul, possibly in readiness for a test launch that would demonstrate its ability to hit U.S. bases on Guam.

China's agriculture authority said on Wednesday that its tests have found 14 more H7N9-positive poultry samples in east China.

The avian flu virus, so far responsible for the deaths of nine people nationwide, was detected in 11 chicken samples from Jiangsu, two duck samples from Zhejiang and one duck sample from Anhui Province, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

All of the samples were collected from poultry markets in those regions.

The ministry has ordered the three provinces to shut down the marketplaces from which the samples were taken and cull all live poultry there.

Of all the mysteries surrounding the emergence of a new and deadly strain of avian influenza around Shanghai, one of the biggest is why China’s hundreds of medical and veterinary labs did not spot the problem sooner — or if they did, why it was not disclosed.

Even the censored Chinese news media has begun cautiously questioning why the authorities did not say anything sooner about a disease that resulted in the first known human case in eastern China on Feb. 19, but was not announced to the public until March 31. The announcement came two weeks after the closing of the National People’s Congress, a show event during which the Communist Party traditionally avoids acknowledging problems.

“People are still asking, why did it take the government so long to confirm the outbreak?” The Communist Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League, said in a column several days ago. “The transparency of information from the government is still being called into question by the public, and the actions the government has taken have not convinced the public.”

Tokyo Electric Power Co. must stop using sunken reservoirs to store radioactive water accumulating at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant once it has enough storage tanks, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday.

Three of the seven reservoirs, which are basically lined trenches with surface covers, have been found to be leaking radioactive water, including seawater, leading Tepco to consider transferring some of the contents to more reliable tanks above ground. The water was cycled through reactors 1, 2 and 3, which suffered core meltdowns in 2011, to keep the units cool to prevent further massive fallout.

The 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix was tied to the tracks near Mecca, Calif., earlier this month by a 78-year-old man, officials there say. The engineer of the approaching train saw the man walking away from the tracks and used emergency brakes to stop the locomotive.

Union Pacific special agent Sal Pina arrived on the scene, untied the pooch and detained the man, who "said his family didn't want the dog and didn't know what to do," according to a statement from Riverside County Animal Services.

”It’s probably one of the worst things I’ve seen," Pina said. "I’ve never seen something like this."

Officials did not pursue animal-cruelty charges against the man because he "appeared to be confused or senile and didn't fully understand what he had done." The man was released to his family.

Chinese police detained at least 10 people for spreading rumors about the H7N9 bird flu virus, state media said on Wednesday, as the death toll from the new strain rose to nine.

Authorities detained the people in six provinces - Shaanxi, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian - some of whom had posted "fake information" online about new cases of the virus in their areas, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The death toll and number of infections in China from the strain of bird flu first found in humans last month has ticked up daily.

Agent Brown, a regular reader at the Coming Crisis, wrote in a letter and asked the following questions about the North Korean situation:

"How will a nuclear war pan out on the Korean peninsula, if at all, and if it does, what will it look like? How do the false flag events surrounding North Korea contribute to all this?"

Matt tossed the napkin stuffed into his shirt onto the table, pounded his fist mightily, and answered as follows:

I also found the shifting of the poll to be incredibly interesting. [Agent brown had remarked that it was interesting that everyone saw our last month poll skewing towards North Korea simply bluffing, but as events began to unfold, the poll suddenly changed to reflect the prevailing opinion that North Korea indeed was a threat.]

No one seemed to take North Korea seriously until the news of a possible confrontation started pouring in, but such is the case with all situations really, in that people don't clue in despite being warned until the situation is upon them, which I suppose is very unfortunate.

I don't think that North Korea will launch an offensive nuclear strike on anyone, since doing so would mean their obliteration.

I do, however, think that North Korea would risk using such a weapon in defense if attacked.

In reality, I don't think America cares about North Korea at all, since they have no resources of worth to America, and their sole threatening capability lies in their proximity to South Korea, a highly important military staging ground and producer of computer components vital to American high tech industry.

Besides, they teeter on collapse on pretty much a monthly basis now, and who knows if they'll even last the year.

North Korea does, however, provide an inroad to China, which is vastly more important.

We're making a video at this very moment about this, which shows China surrounded by no less than 11 countries and island groups with US military bases on them.

America needs an excuse for endless war in order to feed its monstrous weapons industry, and it also owes quite a bit of money to China, not to mention China's asymmetric warfare capability through hacking, etc., to get at the US by circumventing the military.

Regarding false flags, I feel the US and gang have been staging them against North Korea for years now.

First, the sinking of the Cheonan.

Their sole evidence consists of wreckage with the words, "North Korean torpedo" on it, and they won't allow anyone else on the investigation team.

Additionally, the records from the ship show a distress call from the captain stating that the vessel had not been struck by a torpedo, or had even struck a mine, but had "run aground on rock".

This report is available for those wanting to search for it, but once again, few do, although some South Korean politicians have mentioned this uncomfortable fact, but the issue faded away now that it has been solidified in people's minds as "North Korean aggression".

North Korea also vehemently denied the attack, something they don't usually do, since successful operations are important for their propaganda machine.

Secondly, the shelling on Yeonpyeong island remains just as dubious.

Telex communications indicate that North Korea messaged South Korea and asked them to halt their artillery firing, which they say took place over the NLL demarcation line in the west.

South Korea denies this and says they were firing in the opposite direction, but it's impossible to go back and see where artillery shells fired in the ocean.

South Korea may be telling the truth, or South Korea may have been firing into North Korean waters, or even on North Korea directly to warrant such a massive response.

In another strange twist, North Korea expressed regret if any civilians had been killed during the bombardment, something North Korea probably wouldn't do as the aggressor.

So, here's the conclusion of what I'm saying:

1) America is most likely goading North Korea to get at China.

2) America needs a war somewhere, be it Iran, Syria, or North Korea.

3) North Korea will not offensively use a nuclear weapon, nor do they have the capability to against the US main land.

In the event of an actual war, North Korea's sole mission will be to take over the south and hold it, so I imagine a nuclear strike, or a massive artillery strike against Seoul will be launched to decapitate the government, and then during the confusion, the invasion will take place.

South Korea is incredibly weak politically compared to North Korea, and does not possess the fanaticism or the will to fight like North Koreans do, and that makes up a lot for the disparity in wealth and technology.

A US soldier stationed at the DMZ, when asked about if he feared North Korean soldiers due to their lack of food and smaller stature, wisely answered that, "The bullet is a great equalizer."

So, too, is ideology.

The United States would have to face off not only against North Korea, but China, who I guarantee would enter the war simply to prevent a united Korea from peeking at it from over the Yalu river, and my conclusion is that in the end, the US and South Korea would ultimately lose the war, or at most, be forced to retreat back to current borders.

China simply has too many soldiers too close to the peninsula for the US to win without using nuclear weapons, and that would take the conflict to an entirely new level, a level the defense of South Korea may ultimately not be worth.

America's primary military strength is air power, and I feel that air defenses in that region are of a level that the US would encounter massive losses and expensive replacements, since even during the 1999 Kosovo war, an American F-117 stealth craft was shot down, and China and North Korea use similar, if not upgraded weapon systems.

If the outcome is to unite Korea under South Korea, it's a losing proposition for America.

If the outcome is to defeat China in a world war, then that's an entirely different subject, one we should all tremble upon contemplating for the havoc it would ultimately cause.

If you have a question of your own, feel free to write in with a letter!

Just when Italians thought their politics could not get any stranger, on Tuesday they did. That was when members of the Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo decided to “occupy” Parliament, a step that would seem unnecessary since voters had already sent them there to occupy 163 of its 945 seats.

The stunt by Mr. Grillo’s followers, who, despite their electoral success, seem intent on acting as a protest movement, was the latest twist in Italy’s continuing political tragicomedy. The members of Parliament from the Five Star Movement called for the occupation to demand permanent parliamentary committees, even though no party has yet produced a governing majority.

For the moment, Italy’s parties remain entrenched in a surreal stalemate — three intractable blocs produced by February’s national election — and as a result, on April 18, Parliament is expected to begin debate to elect a new president of the republic, even before a government is formed.

The Pentagon is looking to reduce the size of its nearly 800,000 civilian workforce by 40,000 to 50,000 employees over the next five years, mainly through attrition as it closes bases and consolidates healthcare facilities, the department's comptroller said on Wednesday.

"I would hope that given the time to prepare, we could do this through attrition, but we aren't far enough along to really know for sure as to how we do it," said Undersecretary of Defense Robert Hale, the Pentagon's comptroller.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday that North Korea has been skating close to a "dangerous line" with its near-daily threats against the United States and South Korea.

"North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, its action, ... skating very close to a dangerous line," Hagel said at a Pentagon news conference to discuss the department's 2014 budget. "Their actions and words have not helped defuse a combustible situation."

Asked whether U.S. citizens should be concerned about the threats, Hagel said the United States had the capacity to defend its citizens and those of its allies from any action North Korea might take.

Police have identified a suspect in a string of potential hate crimes in New York in which 12 mezuzahs were set ablaze as they hung on door frames outside Jews' homes.

According to the NYPD, the suspect is wanted for setting fire to 11 mezuzahs inside an apartment complex in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on Monday, which was also Holocaust Remembrance Day. An additional one was discovered burned inside the apartment building next door a day later.

Police are searching for a Hispanic male in his 30s last seen wearing a purple do-rag and a black jacket with a New York Yankees emblem, as well as other writings, on the back.

The European Commission warned of deepening economic problems in France, Italy and Spain on Wednesday, and said Slovenia must take urgent steps to offset the risk of a wider destabilization across the euro zone.

Unveiling its second review of economic imbalances in 13 European Union countries, the Commission flagged concerns about France and Italy, while including Spain and Slovenia among countries that could face fines if they do not correct course.

The early warning system was set up after problems in Greece, Ireland and Portugal triggered the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and forced the bailing out of four member states.

Two more human cases of H7N9 bird flu were reported on Wednesday in Shanghai Municipality, bringing the total number of infected people in the country to 33, health authorities said.

A local retired woman surnamed Ma, 76, developed a cough, sore throat and weakness on April 1. On April 2 she developed a high fever and went to the hospital on April 5. Doctors confirmed Tuesday night that she has H7N9 avian flu, according to a statement issued by the city's health and family planning committee.

The patient is now in stable condition, said the statement.

A woman surnamed Jin, 81, who is a farmer, went to the hospital with symptoms of diarrhea and fever of unknown origin, and was subsequently diagnosed with acute enteritis and pneumonia. On Tuesday night, the city's disease prevention and control center confirmed that she has H7N9 bird flu, it said.

The new bird flu could be mutating up to eight times faster than an average flu virus around a protein that binds it to humans, a team of research scientists in Shenzhen says.

Dr He Jiankui, an associate professor at South University of Science and Technology of China, said yesterday that the authorities should be alarmed by the results of their research and step up monitoring and control efforts to prevent a possible pandemic.

With genetic code of the virus obtained from mainland authorities, the team scrutinised haemagglutinin, a protein that plays a crucial rule in the process of infection. The protein binds the virus to an animal cell, such as respiratory cells in humans, and bores a hole in the cell's membrane to allow entry by the virus.

The researchers found dramatic mutation of haemagglutinin in one of the four flu strains released for study by the central government. Nine of the protein's 560 amino acids had changed. In a typical flu virus, only one or two amino acids could change in such a short period of time, He said.

"It happened in just one or two weeks. The speed may not have caught up with the HIV, but it's quite unusual for a flu."

Seventy dead pigs have been pulled out of Liuyang River in Hunan province, according to China Daily.

Public health authorities were quick to assuage fears that the dead pigs had anything to do with the new strain of avian flu, H7N9, which has killed 6 (now 9) people so far in China.

"No bird flu virus was detected on the dead pigs," Tan Jingming, deputy director of the Changsha animal disease prevention and control center, said.
After 15,000 dead pigs were pulled out of the Huangpu river in Shanghai, 70 in Hunan seems like a paltry figure. (remember they didn't find 15 - 20.000 pigs in one day either, reports started with a 100 dead pigs)

Explanations for the Hunan pigs seem to be the same as for the Shanghai swine: cold weather, porcine circovirus, and a crackdown on illegal pork traders, which led farmers to throw their dead pigs in the river.

China is currently dealing with an outbreak of deadly bird flu (H7N9 virus). As of April 10, there have been nine deaths and 28 confirmed infections, largely in the Shanghai area. Officials have been taking measures to prevent the spread of the disease, but they may have acted too slowly.

A rash of shocking photos from around China has been shocking Web users over the last couple of days. The images show sparrows and pigeons lying dead on the ground with no visible signs of injury. And not just one or two, but several and sometimes more than 10 mysteriously downed birds, leaving many to speculate whether bird flu is to blame.

Dead birds have been confirmed in Nanjing, Chengdu and Hubei Province, where witnesses to the mass die-offs have photographed the carcasses and put them online.

According to one person in Nanjing, “Under a magnolia tree, there were all these dead sparrows. I have no idea where they came from or what killed them.”

Another person in Hubei said, “This pigeon just like fell out of the sky dead. At school, too, we found all these bodies of little songbirds.”

During the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Convention in Vienna on 9 April, a Russian scientist declared that Japan would face a giant earthquake of magnitude 9.0 within the next year and a half.

Alexei Ryubushin of the Schmidt Institute of the Physics of the Earth presented his findings which were arrived at from collecting low frequency seismic noise data through F-net.

F-net is a “full range seismograph network of Japan” which promotes earthquake research by providing high sensitivity seismic data, crustal deformation observations and other information which could be useful in monitoring the behavior of earthquakes.

During the convention he pointed out that there is still stress remaining on the crust following the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011. However, he predicts the next quake to take place in another location.

Germany is heading for a recession of its own making, warned billionaire George Soros.

In a speech in Frankfurt this week, the Hungarian-born investor said he expected Europe's largest economy to be contracting by the time Germans vote in national elections in September.

Pointing to the Cyprus bailout, he said the eurozone crisis was far from over and was likely to become more acute in the months ahead.

"Germany itself remains relatively unaffected by the deepening depression that is enveloping the eurozone," he said. "I expect, however, that by the time of the elections, Germany will also be in recession."

Eurozone gross domestic product shrank by 0.6% in 2012 and is forecast to contract by a further 0.5% this year, according to the European Central Bank.

Luxembourg plans to lift bank secrecy rules for European Union citizens who have savings based in the country, the prime minister announced on Wednesday, marking a sharp shift in policy that will take effect from 2015.

The move brings Luxembourg into line with all other EU countries bar Austria in sharing information within the European Union about bank depositors in its territory. The decision adds to pressure on Vienna to fall into line, after Austria's chancellor said on Tuesday it would join talks on the subject.

Luxembourg's decision follows lobbying by Germany and the European Commission, bolstered by the case of former French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac, who was placed under investigation for fraud after admitting lying about having a Swiss bank account.

Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a U.S.-born Jewish terrorist, convicted of murdering two Palestinians, was sentenced to two life terms and 30 years in prison.

Teitel, 40, was sentenced Tuesday in Jerusalem District Court for the murders, as well as the attempted murder of two other people. He also was ordered to pay nearly $100,000 to the families of his murder victims and $88,000 to the others.

Before his sentencing, Teitel said he did not regret his actions, according to Ynet.

Europe’s top trade official is seeking new powers to compel companies to co-operate with trade investigations in a bid to strengthen Brussels’ hand in trade fights with China.

The proposed rules seek to address a growing concern in Brussels that European companies are shying away from filing complaints against Chinese competitors because they fear retribution from Beijing – be it in the form of lost market access or unfair regulatory treatment.

Even with the threat of furloughs and government cuts sparked by the sequester, President Obama took the time to enjoy a star-studded concert at the White House tonight. The White House celebration of Memphis Soul music in the East Room - which included special guest appearances by Queen Latifah and Justin Timberlake - is likely to rile Obama's Republican foes.

States are now rushing to push bills through allowing for gold and silver to be recognized as legal tender as politicians fear that the U.S. economy is going to collapse.

The push from states like Arizona, which passed through their House of Representatives on Monday allowing gold and silver to be considered legal tender, comes as conservatives fear that the Federal Reserve is running the country's economy into a deep hole.

Lawmakers say the global economy is on the precipice of financial ruin and the U.S. dollar could soon be worth less than the paper used to make it.

The U.S. Air Force began grounding a third of its fighter jet fleet on Tuesday because of forced spending cuts, one of the most prominent consequences so far of government-wide austerity that began in March.

Dozens of units in the United States, Europe and the Pacific ultimately will stand down, according to a statement from Gen. Mike Hostage, the commander of the Air Force's Air Combat Command.

The move involving jets assigned to fighter, bomber, airborne warning and other squads aims to ensure that remaining units can maintain sufficient readiness through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends September 30.

Two more people have died from a rare strain of bird flu in China, as health officials investigate possible cases of transmission between family members.

The latest fatalities occurred in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces -- both in eastern China -- and brought the total number of deaths from H7N9 avian influenza to nine, from 28 reported cases, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

So far the virus has been limited to the east of the country, with infections reported in the Shanghai region, as well as in the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Meanwhile, the WHO is investigating suspected "family clusters" of people who may be infected with H7N9, potentially the first evidence of its spread between humans.

U.S. and North Korean officials met secretly in New York in the days before North Korea's latest round of threats and provocations, although nothing came of the meeting, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source described the meeting as part of regular back channel exchanges between the countries.

Clifford Hart, the U.S. envoy for six-party talks aimed at North Korean denuclearization, met with North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador, Han Song-ryol, in mid March, according to the source.

Nobody but Kim Jong-un knows what he hopes to achieve with his saber-rattling campaign, but the young North Korean leader probably didn't set out to aid the United States, the sworn enemy of three generations of Kims, at the expense of his country's main ally, China.
In a boon for U.S. policy that can only add to China's frustration with Kim, North Korean bellicosity has helped reinforce an American strategy of rebalancing its security policies toward the Asia-Pacific region.

To a China that often sounds more wary of Washington than of Pyongyang, months of North Korean missile and nuclear tests followed by a daily stream of bloodthirsty war threats may be worrisome, but the U.S. reaction is even more troubling.

"We understand what kind of regime North Korea is, but we also understand that North Korea is playing games," said Sun Zhe, director of the Center for U.S-China Relations at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

"Most importantly, we are complaining that the United States is using military drills as an excuse to continue to do this (rebalancing), putting up B-2s and other advanced weapons systems," he said.

A month after they pulled down a statue of President Bashar al-Assad's once feared father, people in a city in eastern Syria are living under a Jihadist regime that could be a taste of what is in store for the country if Assad himself is overthrown.

Hardline Islamist brigades patrol streets abandoned by police. A religious court has replaced a collapsed judicial system, and minorities have fled, according to civic activists in Raqqa, the largest city to fall to the opposition since the uprising against four decades of Assad family rule broke out in March 2011.

The Jihadist show of force coupled with the absence of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, the main grouping of the political opposition, could consolidate an Islamist sweep in the north and east of the country. But the experience of Raqqa, where there have been demonstrations and strikes, shows that Islamist rule has got off to a difficult start.

An ultra-nationalist Buddhist creed is becoming more visible in Myanmar's commercial capital, Yangon, after monks from the apartheid-like movement helped stoke a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the central heartlands.

Many Muslims in the city say they are living in fear after dozens of members of their faith were killed in March by Buddhist mobs whipped up by monks from the "969" movement, a name that refers to attributes of the Buddha, his teachings and the monkhood.

Calm has been restored in Meikhtila and other volatile central areas after authorities imposed martial law and dispatched troops. A Reuters examination of the violence showed it was well-organized, abetted at times by police turning a blind eye.

Most tremors caused by fracking are no more noticeable than those caused by "jumping off a ladder onto the floor", researchers have said.

Experts at Durham University looked at tens of thousands of fracking operations around the world but found they were "not significant" in causing earthquakes.

The process - which involves pumping a mixture of water and chemicals underground to deliberately crack sedimentary rock and extract oil and gas - is controversial, with a temporary ban only lifted by ministers in December last year.

The U.S. and Japan are preparing to shoot down any medium-range missile North Korea is likely to launch.

The Musudan missiles being readied on the east coast have a range of 3,000 to 4,000 km and could theoretically reach the U.S. territory of Guam. That means they would have to fly over Japan on their trajectory, prompting Tokyo to get ready to shoot them down.

The SM-3 missiles aboard two Japanese Aegis-class ships dispatched to the East Sea can shoot down a projectile from 150 to 500 km away. "The SM-3s are capable of intercepting the Musudan before it reaches its maximum altitude of 300 to 400 km," said a military source here.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
IN THE EVENT OF CONFLICT ERUPTING, ALL OTHER NEWS ON THE COMING CRISIS MAY BE CURTAILED IN ORDER TO COVER UNFOLDING EVENTS. WE WILL KEEP TRACK OF THE SITUATION TRANSPIRING ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA.

British businesses could face a 450 billion pound bill as a result of plans to force pension funds to protect themselves from risk with extra capital, data from Europe's insurance and pensions watchdog showed.

This could hamper companies' ability to invest and also force some pension schemes to close.

The estimate from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) shows the impact of new capital requirements on final salary-linked pension schemes, where benefits are based on salary and duration of employment.

The 450 billion pound estimate is in line with a worst-case scenario contained in figures the UK Pensions Regulator produced for the British government last year.

Britain's top companies will be warned today that the Government may force them by law to appoint more women to their boardrooms after the number of new female directors being appointed stalled in the past six months.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said some progress had been made in the past three years in breaking through the so-called glass ceiling but added: "The momentum appears to be slowing and there has been much less progress in executive appointments."

Mr Cable is writing to the 27 per cent of FTSE 250 firms with all-male boards warning them to speed up their appointment of women.

"This is not just about gender equality, but about improving the performance and productivity of companies," he says.

The Obama administration believes North Korea has most likely completed launch preparations and could test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time based on the most recent intelligence, a U.S. official said.

A test launch of one or both of missiles thought to be loaded into mobile launchers could happen without North Korea issuing a standard warning to commercial aviation and maritime shipping, according to the official.

The official declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.